Surreal
by Chocolate-Obsessed
Summary: AU Seto Kaiba pulls a half dead body out of the San Francisco Bay and gets wrapped up in his mystery. To Seto, it all seems a little surreal. SKYY
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Finally this idea poured out of me, all at once too. Kinda annoying when I also had homework to do, but at least it came out fast.

Disclaimer: Don't own YGO.

**Surreal**

**Chapter One:**

Waves. There were waves around him. That meant he was in the water. And it tasted salty. In an ocean? Must be. He tried to open his eyes, but there wasn't enough energy stored up for that. Something had drained him, all he wanted to do was sleep. But his mind was telling him not to go to sleep. Already, he couldn't feel his legs, hands, and torso, maybe they weren't there anymore? He would have laughed if he wasn't so tired. Why was he so tired? He couldn't remember, it seemed all of his life had been composed of being in that water. Long, long stretches of feeling nothing but the rhythmic crashing of the waves against his body. There was nothing before that, so why should he think any different?

There was a log underneath him, keeping him floating above the water. His body was frozen around that log, hugging it like it was his only tie to reality. In a way, it was. It was keeping him from drowning in the dark waters. Anyway, he couldn't stop holding on to the log, even if he wanted to. His muscles were stiff and stuck in that position.

He could see no end to this torture. No angels were going to come out of the sky and pick him up. If they did, would he go to heaven? Obviously he didn't remember ever doing anything bad, so why should he be declined that paradise? But what if he had done something bad and just forgot it? He couldn't imagine being held accountable for something he didn't remember doing, unless... No, he couldn't think any further, these philosophical theories were too much for his frozen brain to comprehend.

Would he be saved, though? Either spiritually or physically, at the moment it didn't matter much to him. He just wanted to be warm again. Warm, and able to move. Instantly, he felt sorry for paraplegics. He definitely wanted to walk again.

The waves got bigger and pushed his body. But, this time, it wasn't so much a wave as a bump in the water, the beginnings of a wave that hadn't crashed yet. Far off in the distance, he could hear shouting, though he couldn't make out what they were saying. The tiniest amount of hope in him blossomed bigger, though the crushing depression that had been ruling over his body for what he considered the entirety of his life would not be easily pushed aside. He still felt no hope over being rescued, doomed to live the rest of his life on a log in the middle of an ocean somewhere. And if those shouts weren't directed at him, he feared his life wouldn't be that much longer.

The shouts got closer. But, he didn't allow himself to become too optimistic. He still couldn't hear what they were talking about, so it could be nothing. Maybe being near death made the senses heighten. Or maybe it was making him go crazy. He couldn't think anymore, his brain was near shutting down. But before he could pass out, he felt a pull on his chest, like nothing he had ever felt before. Had the angels come to get him? That must be it, because he was being raised out of the water. He could feel his body becoming heavier, the water no longer supporting his mass so he didn't have to. He left the life supporting log in the water, his muscles no longer rigid in their grasp on it.

He fell on a hard surface with a loud thump that would have hurt if he could feel any part of his body. Arms wrapped around him, lifting him onto a slightly softer surface. It was warm, too, but the warmth stung, like being on fire. But he couldn't resist. Something was placed over him, a blanket, a jacket...he couldn't tell. His head lolled around of it's own will, but he felt another hand go underneath his neck, supporting it so that it stayed close to the warm body, or what he assumed was a body, it felt more organic than the surface underneath him.

Talking! Someone was talking. It hurt to listen to it, the sounds were loud and echoed in his head. But he could hear it, and make some of it out. "Do you... dead?... breathing... what... hospital..." He moaned, amazed with himself that he could actually make a noise, and turned further into the body. The voices stopped, much to his comfort.

His head was moved, and he felt his eyes being pried open. The image was blurry, and the light was scorching his retina, so he quickly shut them before they could get too far open. But the person on the other side was persistent. He could feel fingers on his eye lids again, and heard the person mutter something. It sounded like "come on... check... damage." Internally, he sighed. There wasn't enough energy in his body to open his eyes, he had tried before, but this time with help, he managed to open them halfway. Again, there was a blurry image, with bright white light behind it. But the longer he kept his eyes open, the more focused the picture got, and right before he passed out, he could identify a pair of blue eyes.

--------------------

Cold and alone, surrounded by people. That's the way it always was with Seto Kaiba and corporate functions. He would make sure that he did the barest minimum of socializing, just to keep up appearances, but would then find some secluded part of wherever the party was being held, in this case, a rather large yacht, and spend the rest of the evening there. A chilling wind blew over the bay, but the cold never really bother Seto. It wasn't like he was ill-equipped for being out on the freezing bay, he was wearing a black wool suit and a heavy trench coat.

Seto took a sip of champagne and stared out at the hills of the East Bay. Tiny lights were on, illuminating the hillside. On the other side of the yacht, facing west, there was San Francisco, no doubt even more lit up than the East Bay. It would seem any large city such as San Francisco could be the city that never slept. He took another sip of champagne and looked down at his watch. It was only 10.24, usually these parties lasted well into midnight. There would be a long way to go, and he knew he was going to get dragged back into the party by drunken idiots that wanted him to do inane things with them. He would politely refuse on these occasions, or if they pressed him a little too far, not so politely refuse the invitations, and find another, more hidden place where he could be alone.

Little did Seto know, this party wasn't going to be one of those boring parties where he had to stay until way after the novelty of being with other humans had worn off.

_What's that? _He questioned himself. It was very white in the black waters of the bay. It almost looked...human? He squinted and leaned over the banister. It was. It was a human. _How could anyone survive in these waters?_

Suddenly, Seto realized he had to do something, anything, so that the person in the water wouldn't die there. Where this sudden burst of compassion had come from, Seto couldn't say, but it was there, and every moment he didn't do anything was almost physically painful for him. So much adrenaline was rushing through his body that he only vaguely remembered yelling for help and watching one of the crew pull the white-blue body out of the water.

Against any common sense he had left, he pulled the soaking wet, and completely nude, body closer to his body and took his coat off to place on the shivering form.

"Do you think he's dead?" One of the crew asked.

"He's not dead," Seto said. "He's still breathing."

"What should we do?" A guest from the party said.

"Take him to the hospital," Seto replied, amazed that these people couldn't think for themselves.

Seto almost stopped breathing when the body in his arms moaned. He was still alive, and at least well enough to moan. That was good, but there could still be a lack of oxygen to the brain. Seto brought his head down to the person's chest to hear the other's breathing. It sounded normal, so there was little threat of brain damage, but just to be sure...

He turned his attention to the head, the eyes, specifically. This boy was oddly colored, even through the water Seto could see that he had black, red, and gold hair. Very unusual indeed. Seto frowned as he noticed the blue lips, but wasn't deterred from his objective. Gently, he placed his fingers on the boy's eye lids and tried to separate them. They went, but difficultly, and after barely opening them, they shut tight again.

Seto frowned and tried again. "Come on, I need to check for brain damage," he muttered to himself, not actually thinking the person in his arms would, or could, hear him. Again he tried to separate the lids. This time they opened easily, as if by themselves. Seto gasped when he saw the color of the irises. Red. Like wine, or blood. The eye moved as if looking straight at Seto, but then the other's head fell heavy against Seto's hand. He had passed out.

--------------------

Having influential power over almost everything in the city of San Francisco had it's benefits, and it's pitfalls, but those were irrelevant at the moment. The current most useful benefit was getting immediate medical attention. All Seto had to do was make a phone call and there they were, sitting in a helicopter on their way to the hospital. The unconscious body laying on the stretcher next to him had IVs sticking out of his forearm and blankets wrapped tightly around him. There was a sense of urgency floating around the helicopter, and why shouldn't there be?

The emergency medical team were busy around Seto, pulling things off the shelves and scribbling on the clip boards. They asked Seto if he knew anything about the patient, but they ran into a dead end on that one. He told them they had just come across him floating in the ocean when they passed by.

"Very lucky boy then," one of the EMS said.

Seto's eyes narrowed as he studied the body. He was very lucky, and should, actually, be dead. Judging by the color of his lips and skin, he had likely been in the water for a long time, and though it can be warm during the winter, it almost never is during the night. And it being slightly warmer doesn't stop the water from being freezing all the time. There was something strange with this individual, something Seto couldn't quite pinpoint.

They arrived at the hospital, and in a flurry of blue EMS uniforms and white doctor's coats the unconscious body was taken into the building. Seto followed them until one of the doctors turned around and told him to wait in the waiting room. She attempted to comfort Seto, telling him that they would take good care of the 'boy,' as people kept calling him, but what did Seto care? This person was a nobody that he just happened to run across in the normal activity of his life. The doctor was making it seem like he was his lover or something.

When she disappeared behind the doors, Seto shrugged and took a seat in the room across the way. There was a small television screen, which some children were raptly paying attention to, a few magazines from the early nineties strewn about the coffee table, and some toys in the corner. It wasn't particularly loud, but there was a low hum of voices, and every once in a while a scratchy voice would come over the intercom and ask for someone to go somewhere.

Seto drummed his fingers on the arm rest. This was going to take a while. Even with his infinite influences, he couldn't make the doctors go as fast as he wanted them to. That would just be unrealistic, though this entire night was a bit unrealistic. How many people are out on a yacht and come across an almost unconscious body in the bay? That boy was really lucky it had been Seto who found him. If it had been any other person, he would have died before they could get the EMS over to him.

The clock on the wall read close to eleven. If Seto hadn't found that body, he would still be at the party, probably fighting off drunk business partners and women that were hitting on him. Silently, he thanked the unconscious boy in one of the backrooms of the hospital. It was a macabre way to get out of a party, but it worked. He rested his head on one of his hands, and before he knew it, he had fallen asleep.

Seto's dreams were never really dreams, at least, not in the traditional sense. He dreamt, but it was never much more than a darkness he could never control. It felt like dark water had poured into his brain, working its way through the folds and crevices, until it reached the end. Yet, right before it could completely consume his mind, he always woke up. And it didn't matter how long he was asleep, the seeping liquid would always get to that point just before it got complete control and then he would rouse and the liquid would retreat.

A gentle nudge halted this dream from it's completion. Seto slowly opened his eyes to observe a small male doctor holding a clip board, looking at him.

"Are you the one who brought in the John Doe?" He asked, looking down at his clip board and checking things off.

After a short pause, Seto decided that the doctor didn't mean it as a rhetorical question. "Yes, I brought him in."

"Alright, then, we have stabilized his condition, started to warm him up. He had a pretty severe case of hypothermia, but we are confident by the results of the last hour that we won't have to amputate any of his limbs," the doctor said, flipping closed his notebook and returning his gaze to Seto. "His metabolic rate is steadily raising, which is also a good sign of a full recovery, though we would like to keep him here for three days after he regains consciousness to track his recovery. All in all, he's very lucky to have gotten here so quickly."

"So I've been told," Seto muttered.

"I need you to sign these forms, though, just as a legal precaution. Shall we?" The doctor motioned toward a table and started walking over.

Seto and the doctor easily glided through all of the paperwork, Seto because he was head of a multi-billion dollar company and thus did a lot of legal paperwork, and the doctor because if he didn't do it right, he could loose his job and his license.

Just as the doctor had collected all the papers up into one neat stack, a nurse ran into the lobby. She looked frantically around the room, and once her eyes came to rest on the doctor and Seto she sprinted over.

"Doctor," she said, apparently winded. "We tried paging you, the hypothermia patient...he's awake."

The doctor's eyes widened. "What? How is that possible?" Seto looked from the doctor to the nurse, trying to figure out what was wrong. Obviously, it was strange that someone whose body had been put through that much stress would be up and moving around less than two hours from being out of that stress, but the tension in the room had clouded up everyone's judgement.

"I don't know, but he's ripped out his IV and is threatening the other nurses," she said.

Both the doctor and Seto stood up and ran through the double doors into the emergency wing. Seto didn't know where to go, but the doctor was pretty fast, so he had no trouble following him with the urgency the situation called for. The doctor turned into one of the rooms, and halted in the doorway.

"How is he conscious?" The doctor whispered to himself.

Seto moved into the room after the doctor joined the melee to calm the patient down. There, in the corner of the room and standing on his bed, was the very conscious person Seto had plucked out of the waters of the San Francisco bay. He was breathing raggedly, and had the look of a cornered wild animal. Seto had a bad feeling about what was going to happen if they pushed that animal too far.

And with that thought, a nurse ran by him, holding some kind of syringe. Seto could only assume it was a tranquilizer.

Once the patient saw that needle, Seto saw the situation go from bad to worse.

"No," Seto heard the person on the bed say quietly. No one else appeared to hear him, for they all continued with their business, one of which was to prepare the needle for insertion.

There are moments in times of high stress and tension where all the activity just seems to stop. The moment that came next was like that. The doctors and nurses in the room slowed down to about the speed of a snail, Seto's breathing slowed, the air in the room almost froze up solid. The only one who could break this spell was the one who started it.

"No more needles!" The patient screamed. And time continued, but not only that, it went faster, to make up for time lost. All of the sudden, three nurses, one female and two male, were flat on their backs, the needle was spinning wildly on the ground toward Seto. It stopped with a small clink on Seto's shoe, and he stood there looking at it. When he looked back up, the wild patient was staring at him, a vague recognition playing on his face.

Before Seto could react, the patient ran over to him.

"Mr. Kaiba, watch out," the doctor from the lobby said.

But the patient had already attached himself to Seto. Seto pulled away, annoyed that someone he didn't know was all of the sudden clinging on to his coat, but he couldn't shake the guy off. His size betrayed how strong he was, and for fear of ripping his clothes, Seto stopped struggling against him.

Seto sighed. "Get these people out of here," he said, waving his hand. The doctor looked around at the nurses and other doctors, nodding slightly to let them know to follow the other's orders. They all left, and the patient glared at each one of them as they passed.

Seto walked awkwardly toward the bed, where he tried once again to get the unwanted clinger off. He didn't have to try hard, as the patient now figured it would be safe for him to be cooperative. The patient climbed onto the bed and sat there, eyes focused on Seto.

"Who are you?" The patient asked.

Seto was incredulous to the patient's forthrightness. "I think the better question is who are you?"

"Me?" The patient paused and thought about it. "My name is Yami, I think."

"Amnesia, interesting," the doctor behind Seto said, writing more down.

Seto ignored the doctor's comment. "It's just Yami, nothing else?"

"What else would there be?"

Seto shook his head, amnesia was right. He couldn't stand there all night and teach this boy about the world, and luckily the doctor chimed in.

"I'm sorry to interrupt this conversation, but we really need to check his vitals," the doctor said, pulling out his stethoscope. "You may wait outside, or in the lobby again, Mr. Kaiba."

Seto nodded, and chose to wait outside. This way, if he got called upon again, he would be at easy access.

He leaned up against the wall right outside the room. This was one of the most strenuous evenings he had ever been through. Though comparing corporate parties to a hypothermic in a hospital was definitely comparing apples and oranges. He watched nurses and a few doctors walk in and out of the room, but no more disturbances to speak of.

Then, all at once, the nurses and doctors walked out of the room, the head doctor stopping behind the group.

"Ah, Mr. Kaiba," he said. "Well, we've run all the tests we can think of, and he's come up normal. It's like he was never in those waters. I just can't explain it."

The doctor paused, then continued. "And we can't get anymore information, he doesn't remember anything but his name and being in the water. The only options for his release is that you sign for him, or we try to find his parents, which given the current circumstances, seems unlikely. In that case, we would have to send him to an orphanage, since he looks to still be a minor."

"An orphanage," Seto repeated to himself. "When can you release him?"

"With all of his tests proving that he's in good health," the doctor answered, "we would like to keep him overnight, just to be sure, but he should be ready to go by tomorrow morning. Or, rather, later this morning."

"I'll be back at 9," he said. He walked out of the ward, and onto the street. He hailed a taxi, and on the entire way home, he thought about every point in that evening where something had turned for the worse.

A/N: Right, chapter one. Review please.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Yay! One down. My goal for this week is to update all of my YGO fics, and I got one done! I'm very excited, if you couldn't tell. Oh, and I promised I would praise my beta for going through it so quickly, so everything I've ever said about her being slow and sometimes not sending me any corrections (not 'cause I just write so beautifully and there were none in there(I wish)but because she just didn't do 'em) is fully taken back! She is a wonderful wonderful wonderful beta that deserves all the best music I have. That's the best reward I can think of, 'cause music equals life in my opinion.

Disclaimer: Do I really have to write these every time?

**Chapter Two:**

A light breeze came through the open window and rustled Seto's newspaper. He straightened it, but then decided to just put it down. He was actually reading it, but had a feeling that a certain little brother of his would come sprinting down the stairs and initiate a conversation. It was always better that one prepare oneself for a talk with that miniature whirlwind. Earlier in the morning, when Seto had finally gotten home, he was shocked to find that Mokuba had waited up for him. Of course, he had called home to tell his brother where he would be, and that he didn't know how long it would take, but he hadn't expected Mokuba to stay up that late.

Even at that time in the early morning, Mokuba was extremely energetic. He was probably just curious about Seto's night, and that's what kept him up, since Mokuba wasn't really the type that stayed up that late. But the instant Seto walked through the door, Mokuba was asking questions. He was relentless in this task until Seto had told him that the person he saved was going to be staying with them, at least until that person had recovered his memory. Mokuba was silent after this, and Seto could see the little wheels inside his brother's head turning. He was too tired to dissuade his brother from doing anything, so he let Mokuba think away.

Like clockwork, Seto could hear small pounds coming down the staircase. The kitchen door burst open, and a very distressed Mokuba ran in. Before Seto could comment on this, though, Mokuba spoke.

"What's his favorite color?"

"Excuse me?" Seto asked, wondering in what reference this question had popped up.

"Yami, what's Yami's favorite color?" Mokuba looked as if this was a matter of life or death, but Seto almost laughed out loud.

"How should I know?" He responded, then deciding it might be better if he picked that newspaper back up.

"Aw, Seto, you're no help," Mokuba pouted. Still, he sat down on the other side of the small kitchen table and sulked.

"Why do you want to know, anyway?" Seto asked.

"We have to prepare a room for him, so I was wondering what color theme I should make it," Mokuba said.

"Ever the thoughtful one," Seto said, picking up his cup of coffee and taking a small drink. "Just go with your gut instinct."

"But I don't know anything about him," Mokuba said. "My instinct could be way off. Just tell me something about him, that would help."

"I don't know anything about him," Seto said. "I found him in the bay, nearly frozen to death. You want help, don't make his room blue, might bring back bad memories."

Mokuba looked a little lost at that comment, but smiled when he got it. "'Cause of the water. You're so weird. Fine, no blue. But what else? I need more help."

"Why don't you just wait until he gets here and then ask him?"

"But," Mokuba started. "That's rude. His room should be ready for him by the time he gets here. And I'll need something to do while you're out."

"I'm sure he won't care what color his room is, just as long as it's clean and his," Seto said. "Make it whatever color you want."

Seeing that his older brother was going to be absolutely no help, Mokuba got up and left the kitchen. Seto sighed and looked down at his watch. He had ten minutes until he needed to leave. It still hadn't quite hit him that he had offered to take in a supposedly orphaned boy, which meant that the same boy would be living with them. It had always only been Seto and Mokuba, alone in a big house, either in Japan or San Francisco; it was going to be strange to have to consider someone else.

Well, he had already chosen to take on this responsibility, and he could hardly back down now. Not only would it be a huge blow to his character, but Mokuba would be mad at him. Seto didn't see the reason for another person in their lives, but Mokuba was a very social creature, making friends everywhere from in school to random homeless people on the street. Seto disapproved of the latter, but couldn't stop his brother's personality from exerting itself.

Finishing his coffee, Seto stood up and walked to the hallway. He pulled his coat off of the coat hanger and put it on. He was just about to yell up the staircase to tell Mokuba that he was leaving when he heard a loud crash. It sounded like something dense and heavy was dropped on the floor.

"Mokuba?" Seto called up the stairs.

"No! Nothing's wrong! I'm okay," Mokuba yelled back. "Are you leaving now?"

"Yes, I'll be back soon," Seto said, a little curious as to what his younger brother was doing upstairs.

"Okay, see you then," Mokuba said, appearing at the top of the stairs to wave good bye.

Seto walked out of the house, feeling uneasy about what Mokuba was going to do to the guest bedroom. Images of Mokuba covered in paint...and the room covered in paint, infiltrated Seto's thoughts, causing more uneasiness to bubble up in Seto. He banished these thoughts from his mind as he unlocked his car and got in.

The drive from Seto's house to the hospital was no more than forty minutes over the hills of San Francisco. Today, though, it only took twenty minutes. By some prophetic act, Seto had left later than he normally would have, so he arrived at the doors of the hospital at exactly 8.52, leaving ample time for him to get to the correct wing and room.

Seto walked into the lobby to be greeted by a cheery receptionist who handed him a guest pass. She had given him the correct floor pass, perhaps she remembered him from earlier, but if she was there earlier she must've been awake for who knows how long. And yet she was that...agreeable. It made Seto inwardly shudder.

Seto walked through the empty hallways listening to his rubber soles create a dull thud on the floors. It was early in the morning, and still nurses and doctors clad in white clothing rushed past him on their way to something that needed their attention. He reached the proper door and stood in front of it. Against his will, his hand slid up the door, coming to rest a little lower than at shoulder height. On the other side of that door was a human being that was going to live with him for an indeterminate amount of time. He took a deep breath and moved his hand down to the door knob, twisted it open, and walked into the room with all the confidence he could muster.

Inside, the doctor from last night held up a stethoscope up to the bare chest of his patient. Yami, intently staring at the doctor, glanced up when Seto made his entrance. His expression caught Seto off guard, it was unnerving, slightly eerie. Not necessarily happy, definitely not hostile, but like something Seto had never seen on a human being.

The doctor, noticing the new occupant in the room, turned around from his patient. He, as a complete opposite of Yami, looked worn down and confused. He brought his hand up to the bridge of his nose and started to massage as he walked toward Seto. Yami stayed seated on the bed, but picked up his shirt and put it back on.

"I need to speak with you," the doctor said when he reached Seto. They walked outside and the doctor stopped him a little ways from the door. "I don't understand this situation at all, but I have been running thorough tests on Yami the entire night, and he has completely recovered from the trauma yesterday." he said. "Completely," he said again, quieter, as if to strengthen his point.

"And?" Seto said after a sufficient pause.

"And so he is..." the doctor reached up and scratched his head, "well, we can't keep him here, because there's nothing to treat. But this anomaly should be researched."

"Good luck with that one," Seto said sarcastically. "Something tells me he wouldn't be too compliant."

"Of course," the doctor said. "And we couldn't without his permission. So, I assume you've come to sign off for him."

"Yes," Seto said, resigning a restless part of his soul to a fact that he couldn't escape.

With all the appropriate papers signed, Seto walked back into Yami's hospital room. Yami was sitting on his bed, staring out the window. Seto couldn't see what was so interesting, the only thing visible from that window was the large tree right outside it, maybe a little bit of sky.

"Get your things, we're leaving now," Seto said.

"What?" Yami asked.

"You are leaving the hospital, with me," Seto replied.

"Where are we going?"

"We are going to my house, where you will stay until you regain your memory and can leave," Seto said.

"Oh," Yami said. Silently, he jumped off the bed and reached underneath it, pulling out a small bag.

"What's in the bag?" Seto asked.

"Clothes, from the hospital," Yami replied.

Outside, the fog had already burnt off, leaving a clear, brisk day. There were no clouds in the sky, yet the wind from the ocean was more than enough to cancel out the warming rays of the sun. Seto could see his breath, but didn't think twice about the weather.

Then a question from nowhere reached Seto's ears.

"What do I call you?"

He turned around to Yami, confused by what he meant. Seto thought about it, and quickly came to the conclusion that he had never told Yami his name.

"You may call me Kaiba," Seto replied.

By this time they had reached the car, and Seto pushed the button in the keychain remote control to unlock the trunk and the two front doors. He took the bag from Yami and threw it in the trunk, while Yami went to the passenger's side and got in.

The ride went by silently, Yami was observing people outside the car windows, and every once in a while, Seto's movements in the car. He didn't quite look curious, like if he had never seen these things, but he was absorbing this new information.

Seto turned off the main road and on to one of the small, twisty residential streets, these being of the affluent Seacliff neighborhood. The large houses on either side were perfectly manicured in every aspect, from the stucco on the walls to the blades of grass. Yami could just start to see the ocean above the roofs of the houses.

"You live by the ocean?" Yami asked.

"Yes," Seto replied.

"That's nice. I've always wanted to live by the ocean, I think," Yami said. "It seems familiar."

"Is that so?" Seto said, not really paying attention. Yami noticed this and shot him a dirty look, but looked forward again when Seto pulled into a driveway.

Seto drove up a smooth, concrete driveway and parked in front of a large, two story, Mediterranean style house. The angle of the morning sun made the house cast in shadow, cooling the warm colors of the paint. Seto popped the trunk and got out of the car, while Yami slowly pulled his seat belt off, still looking at the house. When he had got out of the car, Seto locked it and walked up the few stairs to the front door with Yami's things.

The inside of the house was even more grand. Yami walked into the entryway, where a bouncy little kid jumped down the stairs.

"Seto, you're back just in time, I just finished," Mokuba said. Seto handed Yami's things to Mokuba and walked further on into the kitchen.

Mokuba looked after him, but then turned around and saw Yami standing there. "Oh," he noticed Yami and ran down the rest of the stairs. "Hi, my name is Mokuba," he said, extending his hand.

Yami took it, looking confused. "My name is Yami," he replied.

Mokuba moved closer to Yami, staring up into his eyes. "Wow, you have really bizarre eyes," Mokuba said. All Mokuba's worries about the color of Yami's room faded.

"What? Why?" Yami asked.

Mokuba shrugged. "I've just never seen that color. Do you wear contacts?"

"Contacts?" The conversation was taking a turn that Yami couldn't follow.

"Guess not," Mokuba said. "Did you really lose all your memories?"

"Yeah," Yami said. He swayed a little on his feet, and Mokuba noticed.

"You must be tired. Here, I'll show you to your room," Mokuba said, smiling. He bounded back up the stairs with Yami's bag.

Once Yami had climbed the stairs, Mokuba started talking again. "Okay, so your room is the one at the end of this hallway," he pointed to the right end of the hallway, "mine is right next to yours, and across from my room is the bathroom." He looked up to Yami to make sure he was understanding it. "And on the other end," he pointed to the left, "is Seto's bedroom and study."

"You keep calling him 'Seto', does he have two names?" Yami asked.

Mokuba looked up at their guest. "Uh, yeah, I guess so," Mokuba said. "He told you to call him 'Kaiba' right? Well, that's our last name."

"Last name?"

"Yeah. You don't have a last name? Or is 'Yami' your last name?"

"I-I'm just Yami," he said.

"Okay," Mokuba said. "Here's your room. I hope you like it, Seto wasn't any help at all, so I should get all the credit." He smiled, which in turn made Yami smile.

Yami twisted the door knob and opened it up to reveal a medium sized room. There was a bed and night stand, a small desk, and a closet. The bed had dark red duvet and matching pillows, the desk and night stand were both made out of a dark hardwood, and the windows had a different shade of red curtains.

"It's nice, thank you," Yami said, turning around to a shining Mokuba.

"You're welcome," Mokuba said. "I'll leave you alone now." He handed the bag to Yami and left.

Yami placed the bag next to the desk and fell on the bed. It was true that his body didn't feel anything close to the discomfort he felt when he was in the water, but his mind was tired. There was something important that he couldn't remember, something picking at the back of his head. He chose to ignore it for now, and fell asleep.

-------------------

A teapot starting whining on the stove, and Seto reached over to remove it. Out of habit, he took a teabag out of the box and put it in a cup, poured the hot water over it, and watched it steep. After the day he had, a nice cup of hot tea would be perfect. So here he was, with a stranger living in his house. At least his brother seemed to take nicely to him, not that there was ever any worries there.

"Wow, Seto," the same brother said, walking into the kitchen. "He's so cool! Can he stay with us forever?"

"No, he cannot stay with us forever," Seto said, walking over to the breakfast nook. "He's not some stray cat, he's probably got a family and a home to go back to, once he recovers his memory."

"What if he never remembers anything?" Mokuba asked.

"The likelihood of that happening is slim to none," Seto said. "And I don't know what will happen to him if that is the case. He's not mine to worry about. And he's not yours to worry about either."

Mokuba sat down across from his brother. "Wonder where he came from," Mokuba mumbled into his hands. "He doesn't look like a normal human. I asked if he wore contacts, but he couldn't remember what they are."

"You shouldn't pry into other people's business," Seto said, sipping out of his cup.

Mokuba stuck his tongue out. "He liked his room though, no thanks to you," Mokuba said.

"You couldn't honestly believe that I would know anything about his likes or dislikes," Seto said.

"Yeah yeah," Mokuba said, sitting up straighter. "So what happens now?"

"We wait."

A/N: Like with so many other chapters of mine, I wasn't quite sure if I should end it there, since there was very little action in this chapter, but it would've been like ten pages if I didn't stop here and I might've not met my deadline! I've still got two more chapters for other fics to write... Please review and show me that I'm not just pressuring myself because I'm a masochist.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N:Fun fun. Okay, got three chapters now. Writing the fourth. I like it when the ideas just flow out. Thanks to reviewers. Got really nothing else to say. Read.

Disclaimer: Still don't own it.

**Chapter Three: **

Not a sound could be heard in the dark bedroom, except for the light breathing of its inhabitant. Seto lay perfectly still in his bed, staring up at the high ceiling and reflecting on his short life. It wasn't hard to do either, because he had lived a typical life. That was, up until now. He turned over on his side and stared out his street-side window. All was quiet, even the thoughts inside Seto's brain. Seto sighed.

He closed his eyes slowly, feeling the exhaustion of the day seep into his muscles and bones. It wasn't particularly trying, in the physical sense, and yet all Seto wanted to do was sleep. Before he could fully slip into the abyss, he glanced at his digital clock. It was only 10.30.

Seto awoke with a start, feeling someone jolt his conscious mind back into his body. There was a rough shaking originating from his shoulder, and the first thought that went through his mind was on the safety of Mokuba. This worry quickly faded from his mind, as he didn't hear anything out of the ordinary. The second thought, though, was more confusing to his sleep-fogged coherence. _If it's not Mokuba shaking me, who is it? _

"Kaiba," he heard a voice hiss at him. "Wake up."

Slowly, as he regained realization and quicker reaction time, he turned over on his back and brought his hand up to his throbbing head.

"Yami," Seto groaned. "What do you want?" He let his head fall to the side and glanced at his clock. 2.41 am. What could be so important as to wake him up that early in the morning? Thoroughly convinced this was going to be a huge waste of time, Seto started drifting back to sleep.

"Oh, no you don't," Yami said. "Don't you fall asleep again." Seto felt a jab in his side, which caused him to grimace in pain.

"I'm awake, now what do you want?" He mumbled.

"I remember something," Yami said, the previous annoyance in his voice nowhere to be found.

"Something. Well, that's terribly interesting, but if you don't mind, I'd like to get back to sleep," Seto said.

"You don't even want to know what it is?" Yami said.

"Honestly?" Seto asked. "No."

"Too bad," Yami said. "The doctor said I should tell someone right away if I remember anything, just in case I forget again."

"Just get to the point," Seto said. "What did you remember?"

"I have a brother, a little brother, like you," Yami said, almost seeming proud of himself. "And… we were always alone."

"Alone? What do you mean by that?"

"Just what I said, we were alone," Yami said. "As in, there was no one else with us."

A million different reason for why Yami and his brother would be alone shot through Seto's mind. Even when half-asleep, Seto was sharp. "How long had you been alone?" This could result in a very serious charge against the parents; abandoning a child, or, make that two, for any amount of time was not something to laugh at.

"I…don't really remember," Yami said.

"Was that all you wanted to say?" Seto asked. The momentary exhilaration of learning something new was beginning to wear off and sleep was once again bartering for control.

"Yes," Yami said, his eyelids fell heavily over his crimson eyes, betraying how tired he actually was.

Seto raised an eyebrow to this behavior. "Are you sure you didn't just dream this?"

"I did not! I remember it clearly," Yami yelled at him through clenched teeth, obviously minding that it was early in the morning and there was another occupant in the house.

"Okay, go back to bed," Seto said, laying back down and getting comfortable.

Yami stood there watching him, waiting until he told himself to go back to bed and not just following orders.

Seto was already more than halfway asleep again when he heard the door to his bedroom shut closed, returning his room to the silence it had before.

* * *

Mokuba sat alone in the kitchen nook, playing video games and neglecting his half eaten bowl of cereal. He had a look of perfect concentration and contentment, and barely noticed when he was joined by someone else in the kitchen.

Yami walked in, awkwardly, as if he didn't know where he was.

"Hey, Yami, I see you found the kitchen," Mokuba said. "We didn't really give you a full tour, did we?"

"Hello, that's okay, I found everything I needed," Yami said. "Are you alone?" Yami looked around the kitchen.

"Yeah, Seto had to go into the office for a little while, even though it's Sunday," Mokuba said, pulling his cereal bowl closer and picking up his spoon again.

"Sunday means he doesn't work?"

"Uh huh...it's the weekend," Mokuba said, Yami gave him a lost look. Mokuba dropped the conversation, and took a bite of his cereal. "Are you hungry?"

"A little, that looks good though," Yami said, pointing at Mokuba's bowl.

"Cereal? It's okay," Mokuba shrugged. He hopped off the bench and ran up to the cupboard, pulling out a bowl and the cereal box. Yami sat down at the table, watching Mokuba prepare his food.

"Do you want a lot?" Mokuba said, pulling out the milk.

"No, thank you," Yami replied. He turned around to face forward on the table, and saw the video game Mokuba was playing with. He picked it up, examined it front and back, and placed it down. Mokuba walked back over with the bowl and a spoon.

"Like my games?" Mokuba said.

"Yes," Yami commented. "Seems familiar."

"You remember video games?" Mokuba asked.

"Something like it," Yami said inconclusively.

"Seto told me that you remembered something earlier this morning. Well, not so much told me as complained about being woken up in the middle of the night," Mokuba laughed. "What did you remember?"

"Just that I have a little brother," Yami said, a small smile gracing his features.

"Like me," Mokuba said enthusiastically. "Do you remember what he's like?"

Yami's smile faded. "No, I don't."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to press you," Mokuba said.

"It's okay," Yami said, looking down at his uneaten food. "I'm not hungry anymore, can we play video games?"

"That sounds great, I'll go set up the system!" Mokuba said, running out of the kitchen. Yami looked back down at his cereal and sighed. Not remembering anything almost brought him to tears, especially since he couldn't remember his brother. He took a deep breath and looked up at the ceiling. He chose to be an optimist, telling himself that, eventually, everything would come back to him.

"Yami?" Mokuba said, sticking his head in the kitchen. "Are you coming?"

Without a word, Yami stood up and followed Mokuba out to the living room, where a giant television was buzzing with life. Mokuba went and sat down on the floor, picking up both of the controllers and looking back around at Yami. He sighed one more time, and walked around the couch to sit down next to Mokuba.

"So, how do we play?" Yami asked.

"For right now, just press buttons, you'll probably see a pattern that you can follow, which gives you combos," Mokuba said, pressing a button to start up the game.

"Alright. Let's play."

* * *

Seto walked into the front door after a couple of hours of fixing bugs in the office's system, worn out and just wanting to be at home. Though, home wasn't necessarily the most comfortable place to be, with their new guest.

The noises of video games reached his ears, and his mood brightened as he imagined Mokuba showing Yami how to play games. It would no doubt be a very interesting experience, sitting in front of the huge flat screened tv with surround sound and just about every gaming platform on the planet at Mokuba's disposal.

Seto walked into the living room and was shocked to find only Yami sitting on the floor paying rapt attention to the tv, his fingers moving at lightning speed to fight the opponent. Seto walked in further, until leaning on the back of the couch, watching Yami play. Never once did the game get a punch in, Yami seemed to be one step ahead of them. Seto had never seen someone play with such concentration, and with such skill.

"Hey, Seto," Mokuba said, walking into the living room carrying a glass of water. He walked up to Seto and leaned against the couch like his brother. Yami hadn't even turned around to acknowledge their existence. "Hypnotizing, isn't it? He's been playing for hours, getting better and better. When we had started, we played a 2p game, but even then he beat me quick. Ever since he's been getting faster and faster. Bet you now he could even beat you, at the rate he's going."

Seto looked down at his brother. "What little faith you have in my skill," he remarked.

"Go try, you'll be crying uncle before he's done with you," Mokuba said, shrugging and taking a sip from his glass.

"Fine, I will," Seto accepted. He walked around the front of the couch and sat down. Yami absentmindedly handed him a control, the second player no less, and stopped his fight. The game returned to the main screen and he chose a two player setting. They both picked their characters, and the screen started a countdown.

At zero, both players lunged into action. Seto was fast, but Yami was faster, landing the first kick. Seto's character fell back, but Seto was quick and dodged the next attack. Yami was good, there was no getting around that, he had forced Seto into a defensive tactic. The only thing Seto could think about at that moment was preventing Yami from completely obliterating his health and thus winning.

Mokuba leaned further and further into the couch as the fight progressed, holding his breath as if he breathed it would ruin the game. The adrenaline pumped through his tiny system as Seto's health slowly reached zero. There was a collective sigh as Seto's character finally ran out of strength.

"That was intense! See Seto? I told you Yami could beat you blindfolded," Mokuba said.

"Just a fluke," Seto said, leaning back on the couch.

"Na uh, I've seen you play, and I've seen Yami play, and Yami will beat you every time," Mokuba said. Seto lightly brushed this comment off to the side with a grin and a sweeping motion.

Seto looked down at his watch. "I got home late, didn't I? Do you want to go out to dinner, Mokuba?"

Mokuba shrugged. "Sure," he replied. "Hey, Yami, what kind of food do you want?"

Finally taking his gaze off of the tv, Yami twisted around to look at the brothers. "I don't know," he said.

"Well, we could basically get any cuisine from around the world," Mokuba said. "Does that help?"

"Not really," Yami replied.

"Ugh," Seto said, sounding completely fed up. "We'll just stay home. We can cook something here."

Mokuba pouted for a while, but decided not to protest since Yami still seemed a little disoriented. In Mokuba's mind, there would be plenty of time to go out to eat.

Mokuba didn't know how wrong he was.

A/N: Huh, what's gonna happen? Not too hard to figure it out, maybe. Though, I have a couple of twists, but knowing me and how people can see right through me, maybe they won't be so shocking. I think this fic promises to be good, even if it's rather short. I'm thinking it will take place over about a week, Seto found him on a Friday night, and it should be over by the next Friday. Anyway, Monday is the next chapter. Oh oh oh, review please.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME! Anyway, a nice long chapter...relative to my other fics that seem to be going down in word count. Coming out nice and fast, I make no promises, but this fic might be done by the end of this week, definitely not saying it'll all be posted by the end of the week, but we'll just have to see about the response I get. I've given up on homework and have proven that I can still get good grades without doing it, and actually going to school during second semester senior year is basically pointless, so I'll have a lot of time to write.

Disclaimer: See previous chapters. I'm bored of trying to think up new disclaimers.

**Chapter Four:**

"What do we do?" A voice came out of the void.

"Is it really that hard to figure out? We have to find him, before something goes wrong," someone else in the void said with the conviction that they knew they were in control. They weren't supposed to know each other's identities, but it wasn't like they couldn't all tell who their companions were.

"This is something that we've never had to deal with before," a female voice this time. "This...anomaly, we can't let it get too out of control."

"So then it's settled, we find him," the authoritative voice said. The feed was terminated.

* * *

"Yami."

Yami stirred in his bed in reaction to hearing his name. His eyes fluttered open, trying to adjust to the light streaming in, and soon he could open his eyes and see black hair blocking his view.

"Mokuba?" Yami asked.

"I was starting to worry," Mokuba said. "I was calling your name and trying to wake you up, since you've been asleep for almost fourteen hours, it's already 10."

"I guess I'm still tired from what happened," Yami replied.

"Oh, then I'll leave, I didn't even think about that," Mokuba said, starting to turn toward the door.

"No, that's okay, you can stay," Yami said. "I'm up now anyway." He smiled as Mokuba turned back around happily.

"Why were you worried that I was asleep so long?" Yami asked.

"Seto and me never really sleep that long, Seto barely sleeps at all, so I just thought all adults slept that way," Mokuba shrugged. "I didn't think that you would still be sleeping off the effects of what happened. Since you recovered so quickly, I thought you were done. Sorry if you're still feeling bad."

"No, I feel better," Yami assured. "Did you need anything else?"

"Oh, yeah," Mokuba said, glad to get on another topic. "I wanted to see if you wanted me to show you around the city a little, just in case you remember anything. I'm on break, so I don't have any school to go to, and I got money from Seto to go to lunch, if we want."

"Sounds good," Yami said, though ignoring the fact that he understood very little of what Mokuba said. "I'll meet you downstairs in a bit."

Mokuba smiled and nodded, leaving Yami alone to get dressed. He still didn't have anything other than what the hospital had given him, but there was a nice pair of jeans and button up shirt that Yami had grown to like.

Once dressed, he walked down the stairs to meet Mokuba. He didn't see Mokuba standing there, but continued on the way and saw the front door open slightly. He walked outside and was greeted with a stiff wind that smelled of the ocean and the warm rays of the sun. Yami stood in the sun a little while, enjoying being out in the open again, but then looked around for Mokuba. Down the driveway, Mokuba was leaning over the fence that separated their property from their neighbors. He seemed to be talking to someone that Yami couldn't see, and turned around to notice Yami. He quickly said something to the invisible person and ran over to Yami.

Mokuba smiled. "We're going to have to walk a little way to the bus stop, but it won't be too far."

Yami nodded. He was up for a little walking after being enclosed for such a long period of time.

Mokuba walked around to the door and locked it. He turned around to Yami and smiled.

"Alright, let's go," Mokuba said.

It didn't take them long at all to get to the bus stop, even though they had to climb up and down severe hills. Yami didn't mind the exercise, because the whole time they were in close proximity to the ocean.

When they were on the bus, though, Yami was staring out at the scenery passing by. Trees, people, buildings in all shapes and sizes, other cars. Lots of cars. In fact, there was a lot of buildings too, and a lot of people. Everywhere, like ants. Yami couldn't remember ever being around so many people.

This confusion must've been evident on his face, because Mokuba caught his attention. "What is it, Yami?" Mokuba asked.

"There's so many people," Yami said.

"Yeah, there is," Mokuba said. "If you're not used to it, maybe you're not from the city. There's always been a lot of people here."

"Maybe," Yami said, turning back to the window.

A loud, crackling voice came over the intercom to announce their position in the city, and Mokuba jumped up.

"We're getting off," Mokuba said. "Downtown."

Yami stepped off of the bus into a steel and concrete jungle. The buildings were so tall he could barely look up at them without getting dizzy, and people were rushing around him like they had something terribly important to do that they had forgotten common courtesy. Mokuba pulled Yami over to a pedestrian alleyway so he wouldn't get taken away in the rush.

"It's Monday," Mokuba said. "People get a little anxious during work. But this is downtown, there are a lot of businesses and stuff like that, Seto works somewhere around here. See? Even I get confused. But let's start the tour."

Mokuba and Yami walked around, with Mokuba talking about various tourist sites in San Francisco, and Yami paying attention, but not remembering ever being in the place. Mokuba was getting tired, but having too much fun playing tour guide to notice anything like that.

Mokuba was just about to point out the Embarcadero when he heard a loud grumble. He looked around to Yami, who was looking down at his stomach.

"Are you hungry, Yami?" Mokuba asked, feeling stupid for not noticing earlier.

"Yeah," Yami said.

"Okay," Mokuba fingered the wallet in his pocket. "I know just the place."

Mokuba lead Yami to a small deli nestled inside a large plaza, where teenagers were skateboarding on the large steps. The deli was small, but barely occupied, and the proprietor came right up to ask if they needed anything. Mokuba took control of the situation and ordered two sandwiches.

When the sandwiches were made and in Mokuba's hands, he walked over to where Yami had already sat down, placing one of the sandwiches in front of Yami and sitting down himself.

Mokuba picked up his sandwich and took a big bite, chewing happily. He looked across the table to Yami, and stopped chewing. He swallowed his food and put the sandwich down.

Yami was sitting there, staring at the food.

"What's wrong? You don't like sandwiches?" Mokuba asked.

Yami looked up at him. "I-I don't know how to eat them," Yami said shakily.

Mokuba raised an eyebrow. "You don't know how to eat them?" He repeated.

Yami just nodded.

"Okay," Mokuba said. "Pick it up, like this," he picked up his sandwich with one hand on either side, "you have to squeeze it a little, so the filling doesn't come out."

Yami mimicked Mokuba's motions, and brought the sandwich up to take a bite. Before, though, he looked up at Mokuba, who nodded.

Yami bit a part of the sandwich off, and started chewing.

"You really didn't know how to eat a sandwich?" Mokuba asked again.

Yami shook his head.

Mokuba shrugged, and they finished the meal in silence, all the while, Mokuba was trying to figure out how someone wouldn't know how to eat something so common.

* * *

Two hours later, Mokuba was starting to feel the effects of walking all over downtown with Yami. Of course, Yami was willing to stop every time Mokuba needed to rest, but Mokuba was starting to feel hopeless that Yami was never going to remember anything, or that he was even ever in the city to begin with.

Yami was feeling the same hopelessness. Mokuba seemed to be enjoying himself though, so he made sure to keep the crushing depression away from him, but it was becoming unbearable. Mokuba had stopped saying anything about the surroundings, Yami assumed this was because it seemed they were heading into a residential area, where there were few landmarks.

Mokuba kept walking because it wouldn't be helpful if he just showed Yami the well known sites of San Francisco, and also because he could sense someone behind them. This person hadn't been there for long, but it was definitely something Mokuba was going to keep an eye on.

"A park," Yami said, pulling Mokuba out of his thoughts. Mokuba's eyes widen as he recognized where they were. _Wow, we went far, _Mokuba thought. "And a church," Yami added, his brows furrowing.

"Yeah, that's Grace Cathedral, I think," Mokuba said. "Let's go check it out."

They walked across the new grass of the park, with Yami's sight focused on the cathedral, and Mokuba's thoughts trained on the person following them. Taking care to avoid cars, they crossed the street, where Yami was still looking up into the stained glass window in the front. Mokuba stopped, as did Yami, and turned around, trying to catch the follower in the act, but came up with nothing.

Mokuba was trying to reason the strange feeling of being watched with normal paranoia that traveled in genes, when he heard a whimper and a thud. He turned around and saw Yami on the ground, pressed up against a car and holding his head in his hands.

"Yami," Mokuba yelled. "Yami, what's wrong?" He ran over and placed his hands on Yami's shoulders, trying to get Yami to move.

Mokuba could hear soft sobbing, and something being repeated, over and over. He leaned closer.

"It's horrible," he heard Yami whisper.

Mokuba pulled away, looking at Yami and wondering what had happened.

"Yami, what's wrong?"

Yami slowly raised his head and looked at Mokuba through watery eyes.

"Everything's dead," Yami said.

Shocked, Mokuba removed his hands from Yami's shoulders. "What do you mean, 'everything's dead'?"

Yami's jaw shook. "It's all dead, we...we stayed here, but it's all gone," Yami said.

Yami was starting to scare Mokuba, especially since he had started sobbing again. Mokuba stood up, and caught a glimpse of someone quickly walking behind a tree in a black coat.

Mokuba couldn't handle this anymore, it had gotten way out of his hands. With shaky hands, he got his cell phone out of his pocket and called his brother.

* * *

Seto floored the gas pedal when he got out of the garage, having no concern whatsoever for the pedestrians and other motor vehicles on the streets. He had gotten a call from a very shaken up Mokuba, and all Seto needed to know was the location and the scared sound obviously present in his little brother's voice.

Mokuba had told Seto other things, but Seto's mind was one track at that moment, knowing that all he needed to do was get there. Something about Yami had come up, and being followed, which really set off red flags in Seto's mind. Seto was so caught up in his own little world that he barely turned in time to get to the front entrance of the cathedral. Luckily for other drivers, there were no cars where Seto chose to park. He turned the car off and swung the door open, running across the street and looking for Mokuba.

He spotted a mop of black hair and the top of the steps and took each one three at a time. Getting to the top, he was barely out of breath. But he caught a horrible sight. Yami was all curled up against the wall of the cathedral, rocking back and forth, his eyes wide in fear. Mokuba was standing over him, attempting to comfort, but Seto could see the fear in his brother's stance.

"Mokuba," Seto said. Mokuba spun around, almost in disbelief that Seto was there.

"Big brother," Mokuba said, running to hug Seto.

"What happened here?" Seto asked.

Mokuba pulled away. "I don't know, I was just showing Yami around, hoping he would remember something, and then we ended up here. Yami seemed interested and I noticed someone following us, so I wanted to keep moving. When we got here, Yami," Mokuba turned around to Yami, "he turned into that. I think he remembered something, but doesn't like what it was."

"Where's the person that was following you?" Seto asked.

"I don't know, I haven't seen anything suspicious since I called you," Mokuba said. "What are we going to do?"

"We're going to get him home," Seto said, looking up at Yami. He walked over and crouched down so he would be at eye level. "Yami," he tested.

Yami's eyes looked over at Seto. _At least he's still responsive, _Seto thought.

"Can you stand up?" Seto asked.

Slowly, Yami nodded. He relaxed a little, and pushed himself up using the wall as support.

"Good," Seto said. He started to walk away, but Mokuba screamed, and just as he turned around, Yami was starting to fall. Seto caught him just in time, and propped him back up. "Looks like I'm going to have to help," he mumbled.

Seto took one of Yami's arms and draped it over his shoulder, picking him back up and helping him walk to the car. Seto glanced over at Yami's face, and frowned at what he saw. Yami looked like something had literally sucked the life out of him. What he remembered must've been very traumatic.

Mokuba rushed over to the car and opened the back door, hopping in to help get Yami in too. Luckily, Yami still had basic motor skills, and could get in the car with little help. The entire way back to the house, Yami stared lifelessly out the window, while Mokuba sat, nervously shaking, and Seto cursed people in his mind to get out of his way.

Once home, though, Mokuba relaxed noticeably as he slouched on the couch. Yami sat down right next to him, but still looked drained. Seto sat on a chair to the left of the couch, and decided that since Yami had remembered something, it was his own rule that he should tell it right away.

"What did you remember, Yami?" Seto asked.

Mokuba glared at Seto, obviously thinking that was inappropriate, but was shocked to find that Yami answered.

"I remember that church," Yami said quietly. "But, it wasn't the same."

"What else?" Seto couldn't believe that just remembering that would scare him to the point of tears.

"The sky was gray, it had always been gray, or brown, every once in a while it would be red. It was always cloudy. There was no plant life, just charred stumps, maybe some dried grass. The glass windows of the church were completely blown out, the building was chipping off in large chunks," Yami said. "My brother was standing at the top of the stairs, waving at me to come in. I remember turning around, and seeing destruction. I didn't see all of the buildings that Mokuba had shown me, just steel skeletons of what used to be." Yami started shaking again.

Seto looked at him like he had lost his mind. Mokuba, on the other hand, looked as if he couldn't be torn away at any cost.

"Everything is dead," Yami repeated.

"So that's what you meant," Mokuba said quietly.

"Do you remember anything else?" Seto probed.

"I..I...I..." Yami couldn't finish the sentence. He looked down at his lap.

Mokuba glared at Seto again, and then put a hand on Yami's shoulder. "It's okay, you should go lay down," Mokuba advised. Yami raised his head and looked at Mokuba, then nodded.

Yami left the Kaiba brothers alone with a heavy trudging up the stairs, all the while, Mokuba stared at Seto.

"How could you be so insensitive?" Mokuba asked.

"What do you mean? He said it himself, if he remembers anything, he needs to tell someone just in case he forgets it again," Seto said.

"But there are limits to how far you can push him," Mokuba said, suddenly appearing much older than he was. "I'm tired too, I'm going to take a nap."

Seto sighed and considered Mokuba's comment. It was for Yami's own good, wasn't it?

A/N: o.O what the hell is happening? At least, that's what I'm hoping you're still thinking. More of the past in the next chapter. Soon some action. Then the end. Review!


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: I am alive! I'm still writing, just not very much. It's a short chapter, but nothing much came up. So, hope it's enough for my long absence. I'll try not to make The Hiatus that long again. If you find any glaring mistakes, well... I didn't check it a billion times 'cause I just wanted to post something.

Disclaimer: I _still_ don't own it.

**Chapter Five: **

Yami lay curled up in a ball on his bed, the covers tangled around him in an impossible position. His head wasn't resting on the pillow, but instead on his clasped hands. He was awake, and staring at the wall across from him. The pure, white wall directly in front of his face. It looked like he was watching a movie on that wall; his eyes were glossed over, the lights were on, but no one was home. Suddenly, he sat up perfectly straight, and nodded to himself.

Unmindful of the fact that he was still in his nightwear, he ran to the door to his room and pulled it open, sprinting down the hall and stairs. It may have been later in the morning, but he was sure Mokuba would be there, waiting for him to wake up.

He burst into the kitchen, only slightly disappointed to find that Mokuba wasn't occupying it. Instead, Seto was sitting at the table in the breakfast nook, sipping coffee and reading a newspaper. Yami read the bold print on top, "Business," and saw other sections laying on the table in varying proximity to the reader.

"So you're up. Mokuba told me you were a late sleeper," Seto said without removing his eyes from the paper.

"Where is Mokuba?" Yami asked.

"He had made plans with some of his friends last week to go out today, and since he had cancelled yesterday and Monday, he felt he should go. So instead, he left you with me, but only for the morning, I still have to go to work later," Seto said.

"Oh, well," Yami faded off, while sitting down across from Seto.

At this time, Seto glanced up at Yami's face. As expected from what Yami had to go through yesterday, his face had taken on a pale color, deep circles under his eyes. Nothing in his posture of presence gave away the fact that he looked tired away, and if only for that one observation, Seto wouldn't have assumed anything was wrong.

Trying to keep Mokuba's early-morning threat regarding Yami in mind, Seto tried to form a sentence that was tactful. "Are you going to tell me anything today?"

Despite the sickly color in Yami's face, his lips twisted up into a smile. "I remember it all, every last detail. I stayed up all night playing through the memories of my past, trying to figure these things out. I know I was in San Francisco, but it obviously didn't look like it does now."

Yami paused, looking at Seto to gauge his reaction. Seto was impassive, simply there to listen, not to judge. Yami shrugged when Seto didn't probe anymore.

"From what I can remember, it was destroyed by massive nuclear bombs," at this Seto's resolve did falter, and his brow knit in disbelief. "Those who survived did so by going into deep underground shelters, and when they came back out the world was completely dead. But that didn't matter, they had been underground for so long, due to the fallout, that they just wanted to see the sky again. Well, there were huge brownish red clouds covering the blue, so they lost on that front. As well as the earth being dead and all. That was the first generation, the survivors. Me and my brother are third generation, to my knowledge two of very few to live past three or four." Yami seemed to think about this, looking up at the ceiling. This gave Seto the opportunity to counter Yami's theory on where he came from.

"Wait, you want me to believe that you come from some post-apocalyptic world. That you somehow got transported here?" Seto said, almost sarcastically.

"Yes, now if you want to hear my story, you're going to have to let me continue," Yami said. After Seto crossed his arms over his chest and settled down into a more comfortable position, Yami continued. "And it's not 'some post-apocalyptic world,' it's this world, just far into the future. I remember reading old books on what earth was like before the war, so I remember everything that's happening now, that's why it's familiar."

"If everything was destroyed, how was there books?" Seto asked.

"Some people brought along books, many of them were religious texts, but some had to do with science and society...history."

"Okay," Seto said, playing along with Yami's story for kicks.

"Right, so, oh," Yami said, his eyes widening as he remembered something seemingly important. "Also, like I mentioned earlier with us being the third generation, well, that's were the mutations came from, like my eyes, their color and performance, and my brain. I can see a lot further than you or Mokuba can, we tested yesterday, and I learn quick too, like with that video game. My body to a lesser degree, I'm pretty small, but very strong. My brother is small too, strong like me, but faster. He has purple eyes."

Seto exhaled. A week ago, he wouldn't believe that a person could have naturally red eyes and he would never consider that someone could be from the future. This was all getting a little too science fiction for him. "So, if you're both so strong and fast, for what reason were you mutated this way? What advantage does it give you?"

Yami looked up at Seto, his bangs obscuring most of his eyes. That disturbing smile plastered itself onto Yami's features again, almost enough to make Seto squirm under its gaze.

"Because the animals had been mutated too."

"Animals? Why weren't they killed with the radiation?"

"No one knows," Yami said simply. "But they weren't killed, they were mutated. Terribly strong beasts that could rip a man in two. Very horrifying. Me and Yugi, um, my brother, would take turns to see who could climb up them when they slept. He was younger than me, and lighter, so he won most of the time."

_Games on mutant animals. Seems like a fun childhood, _Seto thought. "Do you remember how you got here?" He couldn't believe he sounded like he was falling for this, but he at least wanted to confirm that Yami's story made sense, no matter how strange it was, so that he could determine if Yami was going insane.

"Good question. Nope, I don't remember anything after I had turned around to my brother screaming my name, and then before my stay in the water and you dragging me out of it."

"What about why you were alone? You woke me up for that one memory in the middle of the night, and if you say you remember everything about your past, then you should remember this one small thing," Seto asked.

"Alone, me and Yugi were alone for most of our life," Yami looked to the side, contemplating. He shrugged. "The radiation killed anyone not able to withstand it. The adults were all first generation and hadn't mutated to the extent that would allow them to live in a highly toxic world. So me and Yugi were left. We lived in that church most of the time, it offered a great deal of protection since it wasn't reduced to rubble."

"And that's what triggered the memories to come back? Seeing that church?" Seto asked, by this time he had his fingers laced together and rested his chin on them.

"Right," Yami confirmed. "I'm pretty sure it was the same one."

"This is all a very convincing story, but there's no proof," Seto said, unlacing his fingers and gesticulating. "It doesn't even seem plausible."

Again, Yami shrugged. "It's what I remember. I don't know what else to say to you so you believe me. I don't think there is anything I could say to you so that you would believe me."

There was a pause in the conversation. Yami leaned back on the cushion, finished with his side for the time being, and it didn't look like Seto was about to add anything useful to the discussion. Instead, he shook his head and lifted the Business section of the paper up again. Seeing this as the end, Yami shifted the pile of newspaper and pulled out a random section. It just happened to be the International news.

Seto sat on his side, every once in a while taking a drink of coffee, turning the page. He heard Yami searching through the newspaper, but so long as he didn't destroy the general organization of the stack, Seto could care less. It was when he started to hear the pages of the other section of the newspaper rustle more than usual did he get annoyed. He folded the part he was reading in half towards himself and looked over at Yami.

Across from him, Yami was turning the pages one every four seconds, apparently skimming.

"If you're going to read the paper, don't just skim," Seto said.

"I'm not skimming," Yami replied, turning another page. "I'm reading the columns. I just read a lot faster than you do." Seto made an indignant snort. "And the way the world's heading, why is it so hard to believe a nuclear war isn't far off?" Yami glanced up at Seto, a small smile gracing his lips.

Seto was about to give a witty reply when he heard the front door slam shut and Mokuba call out to him. Moments later, Mokuba walked into the kitchen and saw them sitting at the table. Yami slid out of the chair he was sitting in and walked over to meet the younger Kaiba.

"I have a story to tell you," he said, directing Mokuba back out of the kitchen. Mokuba looked back at his brother, eyes wide in confusion. Seto rolled his eyes in reply and went back to the paper, noting the time.

* * *

"Wow," Mokuba said. That was all he was saying after Yami finished his life's story. Yami was just relieved that someone believed him.

Mokuba slid down on the couch, his eyes still unblinking. The sun outside had dipped low in the sky, it had taken Yami much longer to recount the events of his childhood because Mokuba was so enthralled in the situation, he wanted to know everything and constantly asked questions.

"So you're from the future, where you were constantly fighting things for survival and were mutated by radioactivity?" Mokuba said, more for confirmation. Yami nodded. "Wow... How'd you get here?"

Yami shook his head. "I don't really know. The last thing I remember from that time was my brother, then nothing until the water."

"That's amazing," Mokuba said. Then silence. Mokuba was absorbing, Yami was relaxing. Then a deep growling emanated from Mokuba's stomach and he smiled. "I'm hungry, let's go see if we can find anything to eat. I wonder if Seto is back yet."

Yami followed Mokuba out of the living room and into the kitchen, content that he wasn't labeled insane by all the members of the family.

* * *

Earlier that morning...

The voices in the room were quietly mumbling amongst themselves. The din was disorderly, since not everyone was currently present for the meeting. They had to do something to pass the time, and what's better than chatting? A hush went around the room when the final person had entered the room and cleared his throat. Everyone could hear their peers shuffle around their chairs, the creak of leather as they sat down, though no one was actually visible.

"I hear from one of my informants that we have located the being in question," a male voice said.

"Have you? That's marvelous. We should eradicate it immediately," another male said.

"No, I don't think that would be a good idea. We could take it to a lab and study it," the previous male countered.

"What's the point? This isn't the first you've gotten to study, and it won't be the last," the second male pointed out. It was obvious from the tone of this voice that he was unwilling to accept anything less than death.

"We should vote, then," the first male said diplomatically. The others that were previously listening all added their assent, and a vote was held. A two-thirds majority held that the anomaly should be taken in and studied, but the other side had negotiated that if the target resisted, it would be taken care of. The male in favor of study already had a plan to go about the capture, it would all go smoothly.

A/N: Review, show me that you guys haven't died as well!


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